Mr. Coffee Cafe Barista Espresso Maker with Automatic milk frother, BVMC-ECMP1000

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Edited (07/19/14)

I have gone through 2 of these machines in the past year and a half. Both of them died the same way - they seem to lose their pressurization capability and so can't brew coffee anymore.



When the first one died after about a year of service, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. But now that the second one has conked out in just under half a year, I'll look for a different brand.



And I've taken good care of both of them, especially when it came to descaling - not only do I have a home water softener, but I also used Durgol every 4-6 weeks.



Original review - 5 stars (Dec 2012)

I purchased this from the local Bed, Bath & Beyond since the price in store was the same as that on Amazon($199), but I could use a 20% coupon in the store. This was a 'blind' purchase - I couldn't find reviews for this product anywhere on the net, in fact I seem to the first person reviewing this on Amazon as well.



I didn't know what to make of the Mr. Coffee brand (cheap/commodity brand in my opinion, maybe I'm mistaken) and the $199 price tag, but the feature set seemed to be good for the price - a 15 bar pump, a milk frother that automatically dispenses the milk into the serving, espresso/cappuccino/latte at the press of a button and a cleaning cycle for the frother. I've used the machine for a little more than a week now and can confidently say that this is one hell of an espresso machine.



I've tried Illy and Lavazza in the machine so far, and the espresso comes out great - you won't believe the crema you get. Highly recommend it!



Pros:

+ can use whatever brand of coffee you prefer, you're not stuck with expensive pods/capsules

+ strong pump that produces rich crema

+ milk frother

+ espresso/cappuccino/latte at the press of a button (the machine automatically adjusts the amount of milk and coffee in the serving)

+ options for making single, double shot and custom servings

+ milk frothing can also be controlled manually (you can adjust the amount of milk in the serving if you're unsatisfied with what the automatic programs provide)

+ the milk container and the lid of the container (which contains the frother) are both dishwasher safe, although I haven't tried washing them in the dishwasher.



Cons:

- none that I've found so far



However, if I could make one change to the machine, it would be the amount of force you have to apply to insert the milk container into the machine (and to take it out). I suspect this has to do with the O-ring in the interface between the machine and the container. Since the container and the interface are all molded from plastic, my fear is that one of them will give sooner or later. Let's hope that Mr. Coffee has tested this extensively.